Should Fraggle Rock be revived?

The whole thing about Fraggle Rock coming back to HBO is generating a lot more buzz then I expected. Considering the show has been rerun on the Hub and TNT without much excitement from the public, I didn't think people would've cared so much. Some people think that maybe HBO is testing the waters to see if they can revive the show, personally I wouldn't object to this. It's no secret that the JHC has been having a lot of trouble getting non CGI preschool projects made. But maybe if they partnered with HBO, they could finally get some long needed support they've needed for a long time. It's no secret Sesame Street probably would've been off the air now had it not been for HBO's financial support. And with the channel recently trying to expand it's kids' show lineup, this whole thing makes a lot of sense from a business stand point.

From a fan stand point, i'd argue there's still a lot of stories that could be told with the fraggles as well as the doozers and several other species from the show. And who knows what other kinds of species their are living in Fraggle Rock. Maybe the show could even be about a whole new group of characters all together. The story possibilities are endless!!

Yes, they are only showing reruns, but what I was saying in my original post was, maybe HBO is testing to see how well the reruns do or they're trying to bring the show back into the public view so that they can revive it. It's pretty unlikely, but it would still be a great opportunity to revive it.

I want to preface this by saying that Fraggle Rock is and always will be my all time favorite TV show. I still watch the entire series at least once a year.

That said. No. Fraggle Rock should not be re-made, re-launched, or re-booted. So very rarely do you find a TV shows that's near perfect as it is. Fraggle Rock is one of those and nothing should ever be done to tarnish it's legacy (that includes a movie, which IMO should never be made).

I do think it's an absolutely fabulous idea to remaster the original series and bring it back to HBO so a whole new generation of children (and adults) can experience it. It'd be kinda cool to produce some new segments with the different Fraggle characters introducing each episode and maybe some closing thoughts when it's over to offer a slightly fresh viewing experience. And if the series proves popular with modern audiences, a web series of shorter videos could work well (something like Uncle Traveling Matt's New Adventures In Outer Space), but the series itself is stellar as it is and there's simply no need for new episodes.

I want to preface this by saying that Fraggle Rock is and always will be my all time favorite TV show. I still watch the entire series at least once a year.

That said. No. Fraggle Rock should not be re-made, re-launched, or re-booted. So very rarely do you find a TV shows that's near perfect as it is. Fraggle Rock is one of those and nothing should ever be done to tarnish it's legacy (that includes a movie, which IMO should never be made).

I do think it's an absolutely fabulous idea to remaster the original series and bring it back to HBO so a whole new generation of children (and adults) can experience it. It'd be kinda cool to produce some new segments with the different Fraggle characters introducing each episode and maybe some closing thoughts when it's over to offer a slightly fresh viewing experience. And if the series proves popular with modern audiences, a web series of shorter videos could work well (something like Uncle Traveling Matt's New Adventures In Outer Space), but the series itself is stellar as it is and there's simply no need for new episodes.

I want to preface this by saying that Fraggle Rock is and always will be my all time favorite TV show. I still watch the entire series at least once a year.

That said. No. Fraggle Rock should not be re-made, re-launched, or re-booted. So very rarely do you find a TV shows that's near perfect as it is. Fraggle Rock is one of those and nothing should ever be done to tarnish it's legacy (that includes a movie, which IMO should never be made).

I do think it's an absolutely fabulous idea to remaster the original series and bring it back to HBO so a whole new generation of children (and adults) can experience it. It'd be kinda cool to produce some new segments with the different Fraggle characters introducing each episode and maybe some closing thoughts when it's over to offer a slightly fresh viewing experience. And if the series proves popular with modern audiences, a web series of shorter videos could work well (something like Uncle Traveling Matt's New Adventures In Outer Space), but the series itself is stellar as it is and there's simply no need for new episodes.

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Ditto here. I feel the same way about Fraggle Rock as I do The Muppet Show: It does not need to be re-made. It should not be re-made.

The wonderful thing about Fraggle Rock is that the lessons it teaches are both universal and timeless, so they still very much apply to the issues children face today. Heck, they even did that episode about addiction and peer pressure.

The strongest thing going against a remake is the cast. Karen Prell would probably come back and Joh Tartaglia has stepped in, but Kathy Mullen has moved on and Dave seems to have no interest in it. Richard's gone, but I suppose David Rudman could give it a go. There would be a difficult challenge to find someone as good as Gerry Parkes and Steve had to give up his one character on Sesame Street due to Kermit, so who says he would have the time for Wembley and Sprocket?

As for the crew, I think it would end up being in the same vein as Muppets 2015. Decent writers with their hearts in the right place, but not quite hitting that Jerry Juhl standard and feel. Who knows if Michael Frith would jump back on board without the original team?

I don't know. There are just some things I feel would be completely unnecessary if they were done.

If anything I could see something like "Fraggle Rock: The Next Generation" or something similar. Age up some of the older characters, make some newer characters. The Gorgs would have passed on their kingdom to Jr (who may or may not have a Gorg Queen?) The original five know of the Silly Creatures and maybe have more of an outlet?
It's hard to imagine a series exactly the same with the same feeling and charm as the original. Not saying it's not possible but it would be difficult to recapture it.

I'm sure there are capable hands out there that could do the franchise proud. Problem is, if the unmade movie was anything to go by, studios are very much incapable hands that can smack a project out of the capable ones and force them to pick them up while pointing and laughing at them. I remember when Corey Edwards posted on his blog that the first live action Smurfs movie basically had scenes exactly like what Weinstine pressured him into including. Yep, especially the completely pointless Guitar Hero sequence. That's what happens when you put faith into a so called indie studio that treats animated/kid's movies worse than even the lowest common denominator studio ever could.

I honestly think we need new Fraggle Rock something, but I couldn't tell you what. I don't think a new series would work, I don't think a movie would work at this point. I'd love to see more viral videos, but that's never going to happen. And I mean, the Doozer cartoon is cute, but frankly it's not going to be nearly as popular as Sid and Dinotrain were due to the fact PBS refused to air the thing.

In the right hands (and with as little executive interference as possible), a new FR series would be ideal. But I don't know how many new and interesting stories the writers can think up, as we could risk a retread. I also think there's been a good amount of closure to the original to not justify bringing it back.

And if budget is an issue, I don't see how refurbishing the puppets and building new physical sets would be any more expensive compared to what HBO spends on something like Game of Thrones. And keeping the production in Canada like the original can cut down the costs even further thanks to Canadian tax write-offs.

Though I do find Colbynfriends' idea of a "Next Generation" series featuring a younger generation of Fraggles, Doozers, and Gorgs as descendants of the original cast intriguing. That could work.

Though I do find Colbynfriends' idea of a "Next Generation" series featuring a younger generation of Fraggles, Doozers, and Gorgs as descendants of the original cast intriguing. That could work.

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I really think the Doozers cartoon missed too many opportunities for being its own thing. Truth be told, I only seen a couple episodes and I can't say they never made some reference or acknowledgement, but they didn't in either of the episodes I've seen. Then again, the fact the show was dumped on Hulu Plus and DVD's in the US pretty much prevented the series from being big enough of a hit that the parents watching would get the FR connection.

I've jostled with this hypothetical over the years. In the end, my best response would be to test out the waters with some new, short segments: YouTube clips that would be no longer than 2 minutes, somewhat serialized but you don't necessarily need to see one segment to understand the prior or the next.

As for the timeline, "Fraggle Rock: The Next Generation" might be appealing but the franchise wasn't big enough outside of the fanbase. Might as well just go with the original cast of Fraggles, grab as many of the veterans as you can, fill the rest with newcomers and understand that nostalgia can only go so far.

Anyway, that's my 30-second knee-jerk response. It was always a nice series and definitely under-appreciated when compared to Sesame Street or The Muppet Show.